WangXian: Reunited ✔

Chapter 33: The Devil In The Shadows

"Either you tell us everything that happened, or I will personally throw you off a cliff and strangle you." 

~LAN XICHEN'S POV~

Lan Xichen paled as he took in the young man before him. The same man that he had protected and cared about for nearly 13 years. 

A-Yao, the brother that he had once sworn would never do evil- was now one of the cultivational worlds greatest villains. 

Not even the Yiling Patriarch could commit the horrors Lian-Fang Zun had done. 

Xichen's knees buckled as his hand tightened on Jiang Cheng's arm. His beloved steadied him with a gentle hand on the small of his back. His hand was a tether, anchoring Lan Xichen to this Earth. 

A thousand emotions flashed across A-Yao's face- emotions that Xichen was sure reflected in his own eyes. A surge of guilt overtook him. It was all his fault. How could he not think of it sooner? How could he not see it clearly? He had always known that Da-Ge and A-Yao were unusually close, and always believed them to be more than just friends. But he would've never guessed them as lovers. Because A-Yao had been so shy and meek, while Da-Ge had been harsh and unforgiving. He thought that Da-Ge would crush A-Yao- thought that the flame would eventually burn the moth. 

Little did he know, he had it all wrong. Nie Mingjue was never the burning fire- he was the delicate moth. And Jin Guangyao hadn't been the unknowing mantis- he had been the preying oriole. **

Fear lit up inside him. 

He never thought A-Yao would be capable of going this far. In his mind, his brother was a caring sect leader, a brilliant genius, and a skilled cultivator. He had always thought that A-Yao had his own difficulties, and that was why every move he made was so carefully calculated. Xichen once sympathized with him, and that was maybe why he was so drawn to him. Because when Lan Xichen first saw the unsuspecting Meng Yao at Cloud Recesses, he had seen himself in him. He had seen the younger version of himself- the Lan Xichen who was forced to put a smile and a polite facade, despite being so broken and bitter. He had seen the young man who was being treated as the dirt of society, just because of his upbringing. It made him recall his own childhood, and the whispers that sounded behind his back. He knew what had happened between his parents was unconventional, and he knew how the Lan Sect elders- despite holding high hopes for him, always felt a tinge of scorn towards him. 

Perhaps that was why Xichen had been furious with the way others would scoff and spit at Meng Yao, and why he had rushed to give a helping hand. 

He knew that it was unbecoming of a Sect Leader, but when he saw the smile- the real, genuine smile that lit up the young man's face- Xichen just couldn't bring himself to care. Since then, Meng Yao had become a little brother to him. He became the companion that Xichen could confess to. He became the friend that he could rely on. He became the advisor that he could confide in. And slowly but surely, A-Yao had carved out a permanent spot for himself in Xichen's heart.

Lan Xichen took a deep breath, "What did you do?" he murmured, voice shaky and the tears threatened to fall from his watery eyes. Jiang Cheng gently rubbed circles on his back, holding him from collapsing. Lan Xichen put a grateful hand on Jiang Cheng's shoulder, before snaking a possessive arm around his waist. It wasn't lost on him how pale his beloved was. 

Jiang Cheng had lost a lot of blood, and Xichen would be damned if he let Jin Guangyao touch his lover again. 

"I-" 

"Zewu Jun," Wei Ying interrupted, tossing his makeshift flute up in the air. "I believe it's best if I do the explaining. And Jin Guangyao can just nod and agree with what I say."